Inside Criminal Minds Star AJ Cook's Journey To Regain Her Vision

Publish date: 2024-04-29

AJ Cook was born in 1978 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. She had a pretty typical upbringing with her parents and three siblings —at least, that is, until second grade when Cook was diagnosed as legally blind due to severe astigmatism. 

When a person is affected with severe astigmatism, it can affect the person's life daily. This is caused when the cornea of the eye is shaped irregularly, and burred vision is one symptom. Those affected can also have fairly intense headaches due to their condition, as Vision Center explains. Cook was able to correct her issue when she was young with thick-lensed "coke bottle" style glasses, telling VIVA Magazine, "The worst moment for me was in second grade right after getting those glasses. [I was] new to the school and I didn't know anyone. There was a buddy reading program where the older kids would come and choose their younger partner. I was always the last to be picked; it gave me so much anxiety every time that I get sweaty palms just thinking about it all over again." She also revealed that her older brother also struggled with his eyesight.

Cook later got contact lenses in the sixth grade, which helped immensely. The actor was even able to take on competitive dancing growing up, and she eventually taught dance lessons back home in Canada. But once she began working regularly on "Criminal Minds," Cook began looking for a more permanent correction of her vision.

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